Sánchez, Schwarber lift Phillies to share of NL East lead

MIAMI -- Finding traction against Cristopher Sánchez was a tall task for the Marlins on Thursday night at loanDepot park.

The 6-foot-6 lefty was impeccable in his 15th start of the season. He went eight innings in the Phillies’ 2-1 win over Miami, tallying four strikeouts against five hits. He started hot and stayed that way, facing the minimum nine batters through his first three innings and retiring nine straight batters from innings 6-8.

With the win and the Mets' loss to the Braves, Philadelphia has tied New York atop the National League East.

Meanwhile, Kyle Schwarber made a fashionably late appearance to the series. The two-time All-Star, whose 22 homers entering the series were in baseball’s top five, was quiet through the first three games. He had tabbed just one hit in 12 at-bats entering Thursday, while striking out three times.

But as he has all season, Schwarber emerged as Philadelphia’s offensive hero when his team needed one most, belting a Statcast-projected 428-foot homer to left-center in the eighth to give Philly a 2-1 edge. The smash was by far the hardest-hit ball of the night, coming off the bat at a Statcast-projected 114.8 mph.

Manager Rob Thomson let Sánchez finish the eighth before bringing in Orion Kerkering -- who earned his first save on Monday night -- to close the deal.

“Just attacking the zone early in the count,” Sánchez said via translator on his mindset heading into the start. “And just [following] the pregame plan they gave me.”

“He was just phenomenal tonight, he really was,” Thomson said.

“[The] strike percentage was over 70 percent. First pitch-strikes [were] unbelievable. Changeup was really good. He only threw a handful of sliders, because he didn’t really have to. His changeup was so good [with] so many right-handed hitters in the lineup. I thought he was dominant. I really did.”

Sánchez was ecstatic to see the changeup -- which he used on three of his four strikeouts -- work so well for him.

It’s been an elite pitch league-wide this year, as Sánchez had a 116 Stuff+ (via FanGraphs) rating on the pitch, which ranked fifth among Major League pitchers entering the game. In addition, his 51 K's on the change entering Thursday were tied with reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal for the most in MLB, while the 47 percent whiff rate on the pitch was ranked third. (He generated the most single-game whiffs, 23, in the pitch-tracking era on the pitch during his April 17 start.)

“It feels incredible, [it’s] an incredible feeling,” he said on his success with the pitch.

Sánchez, a first-time All-Star in 2024, is arguably off to an even better start than last season.

Through 15 starts in 2024, the 28-year-old was 5-3 with a 2.67 ERA, and 69 strikeouts. This year he’s 6-2 with a 2.87 ERA and 92 strikeouts. The Phillies are 12-3 in his starts.

“I really don’t know [if I’m having a better season than I did last year],” he said. “I’ll have to … check the numbers, but I’m doing well, and feeling well, too.”

The Phillies are feeling well too, and not just because of Sánchez. They’ve gotten plus outings from all five of their starters recently, while three (Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Mick Abel) had one-run performances in the Marlins series.

It’s the right time to be gelling for a squad that’s getting prepped for a huge division series against the Mets on Friday.

“We feel like the way that [starting pitchers] keep us in the game, and the way they go deep in games, [gives us confidence],” Schwarber said. “[Sánchez] lets his defense work for him, and they make plays behind him. They go in there and attack these guys, and make them beat them. They’ve done a really good job.

“It’s huge,” he added of the upcoming Mets series. “We’re excited to get back home for the weekend. … It’s going to be fun to get back home.”

Thomson was pleased with the series victory, and he touched on the importance of their next one.

“Every series is a big series,” he said. “It's good to win another one, and for us in the last few years, it's been difficult to win series down here.

“So I really feel good about what we did here, and now we gotta move on, and face a really good squad. We’ve got our fan base in front of us, and it’ll be exciting."